How DO-friendly is neurology

[Anonymous-Premed]

Prospective applicant here with a strong interest in neurology. Assuming someone gets average complex/step scores, is neurology at reach?

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[Ho0v-man]

Very friendly.

 

[DrStephenStrange]

Over 92% of DOs that applied with Neurology as their preferred specialty last year matched. So it's very friendly.

 

[Goro]

Prospective applicant here with a strong interest in neurology. Assuming someone gets average complex/step scores, is neurology at reach?

Very friendly!

 

[BlueBleck]

I think Bryan Carmody's graph illustrates neurology's comparative competitiveness well:

About as competitive as FM. What's not discussed though is that there are few fewer neurology programs than FM. So if you're hoping for a particular spot/place, that might be harder. But most of the time, if you do a sub-I, show up on time, and are enthusiastic, you can probably secure it.

 

[deleted1139416]

Very friendly overall. But the top programs, as with any other specialty, will be anti-DO.

 

[DrStephenStrange]

Very friendly overall. But the top programs, as with any other specialty, will be anti-DO.

True, but it's very hard to know which ones are completely anti-DO though. Therefore, I would advise OP not to count himself out for any programs besides maybe the top 10. I had a top 30 interview last year with Step 1 of 204, no step 2, and Level 1 and 2 at 425 and 435 respectively. Granted I didn't match there, but they were still willing to give me a chance.

 

[deleted1139416]

True, but it's very hard to know which ones are completely anti-DO though. Therefore, I would advise OP not to count himself out for any programs besides maybe the top 10. I had a top 30 interview last year with Step 1 of 204, no step 2, and Level 1 and 2 at 425 and 435 respectively. Granted I didn't match there, but they were still willing to give me a chance.

 

[Anonymous-Premed]

True, but it's very hard to know which ones are completely anti-DO though. Therefore, I would advise OP not to count himself out for any programs besides maybe the top 10. I had a top 30 interview last year with Step 1 of 204, no step 2, and Level 1 and 2 at 425 and 435 respectively. Granted I didn't match there, but they were still willing to give me a chance.

That’s really reassuring; do you think that neurology match rates for DO’s will hover at 90% over the next few years? It’ll be quite some time before I would apply to match and am curious to see what the trend is for DO’s matching neurology

 

[Captain_Falcon]

That’s really reassuring; do you think that neurology match rates for DO’s will hover at 90% over the next few years? It’ll be quite some time before I would apply to match and am curious to see what the trend is for DO’s matching neurology

Hey current M4 applying Neuro this fall

There's no way of knowing for sure. Neuro has never been that competitive nor interesting to most MD students. Not a lot of procedures or high ceiling for pay and lack of reimbursement on top of very difficult Pathophysiology with lots of difficult elderly patients. I doubt it gets much more competitive in the near future if ever

 

[Anonymous-Premed]

Hey current M4 applying Neuro this fall

There's no way of knowing for sure. Neuro has never been that competitive nor interesting to most MD students. Not a lot of procedures or high ceiling for pay and lack of reimbursement on top of very difficult Pathophysiology with lots of difficult elderly patients. I doubt it gets much more competitive in the near future if ever

Thanks for the reply! Those are some of the cons I’ve heard, in addition to an intense residency. With all that said, what got you into neurology?

 

[DrStephenStrange]

That’s really reassuring; do you think that neurology match rates for DO’s will hover at 90% over the next few years? It’ll be quite some time before I would apply to match and am curious to see what the trend is for DO’s matching neurology

This year there were 155 DO matches (187 total applying) with 1005 available first year spots. In 2021 there were 134 DO matches (157 total applying) with 969 available first year spots. That's a 15% increase in matches for a 3.7% increase in total spots. The field used to be and probably still is very IMG/FMG friendly as well with them still filling a big portion of neurology spots, but those numbers have been on a decline lately with more interest in the field from both the USMD and DO side. This proves that DOs are preferred for those spots. So unless the number of DO applicants increases dramatically, like doubled or tripled, in the next few years, or a massive surge of USMD applicants happens, I don't foresee it becoming extremely competitive for DOs.

N.B. Total number applying does not mean total number of applicants primarily applying neurology as their preferred specialty. In case you would notice that the percentage look a little lower than 92% match rate.

Sources: Match result data 2021 and 2022

 

[EArlyBirdGetsTheWorm]

True, but it's very hard to know which ones are completely anti-DO though. Therefore, I would advise OP not to count himself out for any programs besides maybe the top 10. I had a top 30 interview last year with Step 1 of 204, no step 2, and Level 1 and 2 at 425 and 435 respectively. Granted I didn't match there, but they were still willing to give me a chance.

As someone that is interested in neurology how would you find program rankings?

 

[DrStephenStrange]

As someone that is interested in neurology how would you find program rankings?

People usually use the doximity ranking. And that's the ranking I used as well.

 

[DrStephenStrange]

As someone that is interested in neurology how would you find program rankings?

Doximity residency navigator
You may need to create an account if you don't have one already.

 

[Postictal Raiden]

Very